Enhanced video programming system and method for incorporating and displaying retrieved integrated internet information segments

ABSTRACT

A system for integrating video programming with the vast information resources of the Internet. A computer-based system receives a video program with embedded uniform resource locators (URLs). The URLs, the effective addresses of locations or Web sites on the Internet, are interpreted by the system and direct the system to the Web site locations to retrieve related Web pages. Upon receipt of the Web pages by the system, the Web pages are synchronized to the video content for display. The video program signal can be displayed on a video window on a conventional personal computer screen. The actual retrieved Web pages are time stamped to also be displayed, on another portion of the display screen, when predetermined related video content is displayed in the video window. As an alternative, the computer-based system receives the URLs directly through an Internet connection, at times specified by TV broadcasters in advance. The system interprets the URLs and retrieves the appropriate Web pages. The Web pages are synchronized to the video content for display in conjunction with a television program being broadcast to the user at that time. This alternative system allows the URLs to be entered for live transmission to the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/472,385 filed Dec. 23, 1999, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/109,945 filed Jul. 6, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No.6,018,768, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.08/615,143 filed Mar. 14, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,181, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/613,144 filed Mar.8, 1996, abandoned, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No.08/622,474 filed Mar. 25, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,664, which isherein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today, the capabilities of computers to provide massive amounts ofeducational and entertainment information has exploded with theInternet. The Internet has the power to transform society throughunprecedented levels of information flow between members. Currently,on-line systems offer a variety of different services to users,including news feeds, electronic databases (either searchable by theuser directly on the on-line system, or downloadable to the user's owncomputer), private message services, electronic newsletters, real timegames for play by several users at the same time, and job placementservices, to name a few. However, today, most on-line communicationsoccur merely through text. This currently stands in great contrast tothe audio/visual presentation of the alternative electronic medium,television. However, it is expected that as multi-media's incessantgrowth continues, audio/visual programs will proliferate and text willbecome less and less dominant in the on-line environment. Even thoughthese programs will be introduced, the Internet, will remain essentiallyuser unfriendly due to its very massiveness, organization, andrandomness. Simply stated, there is no order or direction in theInternet. Specific pieces of information are many times hard to find,and harder yet, is the ability to put that piece of information into ameaningful context.

Television, on the other hand, has been criticized for being a passivemedium-“chewing gum for the eyes,” as Fred Allen once observed.Television has always been something you watched, not something you do.Many social critics believe that the passivity television depends on hasseeped into our entire culture, turning a nation of citizens into anation of viewers. While interactive television systems have increasedthe level of user interaction, and thus, provided greater learning andentertainment opportunities, vast information resources such asdatabases are inaccessible from such a medium.

What is needed is a means to close the gap between video programming andthe information superhighway of the Internet. What is needed is a wider,richer experience integrating audio/visual and textual database elementsinto an organized unique interactive, educational, entertainmentexperience. Currently, the Internet is a repository of information onvirtually any subject. However, what is needed is a mechanism forcombining the userfriendly visual experience of television with the vastinformation resources of the Internet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The system of the present invention combines broadcast televisionprogramming and/or video programming which appears on a VHS or Betatape, CD-ROM, DVD or other medium, or video programming at a videoserver (hereinafter “video programming”) with the massive Internet,creating a new and powerful educational and entertainment medium. Thesystem allows consumers to receive more information in a more efficientmanner than either television or the Internet alone. Consumers not onlycan see a news report on television, but they can also read pertinentinformation about the report, as well as explore related informationabout the story. The program becomes the introduction to a particularsubject, rather than the entire subject itself. The act of viewing aprogram has now become a more engaging, enriching experience.

The system can also create a more intimate relationship between theviewer and the program. The user might be solving problems or performingvirtual experiments on the Internet site that a teacher is discussing inan educational television program. Similarly, the consumer might besolving problems that the fictional characters in a television programmust solve. In both cases, the consumer is an active participant in theprocess, rather than a passive observer.

Instead of an undirected and unfocused exploration of Internet sites, bysynching specific Internet pages to the video signal, the system putsthe Internet in context. The television program producers now can decidewhat additional information to offer their audience. This material cannow be seen in the context of the television program.

An additional advantage is that consumers don't have to search throughthe literally hundreds of millions of pages on the Internet to findappropriate material. The material has already been filtered by theprogram producers and delivered to the consumer automatically.

Another advantage of the system is that it changes the nature ofadvertising. Since additional information can be given to consumersautomatically, advertising can now be more substantive, allowingcustomers to make more informed choices. Now, the act of purchasing aproduct seen on television can be streamlined—the consumer can be giventhe choice of buying the product instantly using the two-waycapabilities of the system.

In addition, users can take advantage of the two-way capabilities of theInternet to respond to polls, to send e-mail or to link to additionalsites. For example, a viewer watching a television news program, throughthe system of the invention, can receive a stream of Web pages whichprovide additional, specific information relating to the newscontent—whether background on the Presidential primaries or the latestchange in interest rates.

The video programming and corresponding Internet pages can be viewed onpersonal computers equipped with a television card, but the opensoftware-based approach enables anyone with a television set and JAVAenables PC to experience the system of the invention.

By marrying the appeal of video with the two-way data transfercapabilities of the Internet, the system creates a powerful new medium:Video producers and Internet site creators can enhance their content toextend their brand identity and differentiate their program offerings tothe millions of people who are spending more time navigating through theresources of the World Wide Web rather than watching television;advertisers can speak more directly to consumers by directly sending Webpages to the consumer instead of only displaying Web addresses in theircommercials; and consumers can gain a new level of interest andinteractivity over a video-based medium. In addition to providingsignificant and immediate benefits to broadcasters and advertisers, thesystem will also present educational programmers with a way to moreeffectively use Internet resources in the classroom.

Recently, several media companies have joined to create a system forlinking the Internet and television on the personal computer, called“Intercast.” In this system, content will be provided simultaneouslywith the TV video signal. This system, however, requires that strippeddown Web pages be sent in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of thevideo signal, using up to three scan lines limiting effective bandwidthto approximately 28.8 kbps. This approach, however, requires specializedhardware to both insert the Web pages into the VBI and extract thesecodes at each PC since it takes up to three scan lines of the VBI. Thus,the complexity and cost of the PC is increased. Because the Web pagesare transmitted with the video signal, the Intercast system is not atrue “two-way” system, but merely a one-way “piggyback” system. Inaddition, the Intercast is an analog video product, and thus, cannothandle digital video data.

The system of the present invention, on the other hand, is a much moreflexible, but less complex, system. The present invention supportseither analog or digital television broadcasts without broadcasters orend-users having to alter their existing systems, thus enablingbroadcasters to reach a wide audience within a short time.

In a first embodiment, the actual Web pages are not forced into the verylimited bandwidth of the vertical blanking interval (VBI). Instead,merely eight fields of line 21 of the VBI are used to deliver therelevant Internet Web page addresses to the PC. These addresses arecalled “uniform resource locators” (URLs). The system then directs theparticular Web browser to retrieve the identified Web pages from theInternet. Upon receipt of the particular Web page(s), the system syncsthe Web page(s) to the video signal, and at the appropriate times,presents the Web pages on one portion of the computer screen with thetelevision video signal, shown in a window on another portion of thescreen, and thus, provides the synergistic Internet and televisionexperience. One of the advantages of the system of the present inventionis that no specialized chip set need be produced and implemented intothe standard PC. Thus, complexity is kept to a minimum.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the VBI is notused to transmit the URLs to the user. In this alternative embodiment,member broadcasters enter the Internet through a member account, andwill be provided with a graphical user interface for pre-schedulingInternet addresses, or URLs, for transmission to users at particulartimes of day. This interface could also be used to transmit real timelive transmissions of URLs to users at the same time as a broadcast. TheURLs are stored in a “Link File” for later transmission over theInternet to the user at the broadcasters entered time, which correspondsto the broadcast time of an associated program. The timing of URL'scould be determined in advance or can be sent out live. This embodimenteliminates the need to place the URLs in the VBI, and also allows thebroadcaster to store more than one Link File for transmission to usersin different time zones, for example. Further, more than one broadcastercould access the same master schedule if desired, and add or deletecertain URLs to personalize the program for their local audiences. Also,personalization can be taken to the single user, or small group ofusers, by having the system send a different stream of URLs to eachuser, depending on a unique user profile, for example. Thus, thepersonalization feature of the present invention allows each user toreceive information uniquely relevant to their interests, demographics,history, etc. This embodiment makes the transmission of URLs to the usereven less complex than the first embodiment disclosed herein.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide order anddirection to the Internet by using television signals to place, orientand control such information in a meaningful context.

It is an object of the present invention to create a more intimaterelationship between the viewer and the program by enriching thelearning experience through the provision of more in-depth information.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the system design, showing the receipt anddecoding of video signals at the subscriber location using the method ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an alternative system embodiment to achievethe integration of the Internet information with the video content bydecoding the uniform resource locators at a server site and thentransmitting the URLs to the subscriber stations via the Internet.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the basic software design of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another preferred system embodiment toachieve the direct transmission of URLs over the Internet to the user ata broadcaster's entered time without encoding the URLs into the VBI.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of another preferred embodiment including a digitalcable box.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of another preferred embodiment including a digitalT.V.

FIGS. 7 & 8 are sample displays provided to a student of a lesson.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of the distributed Coma Server embodiment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The system of the present invention combines the rich visualcapabilities of video with the vast resources of the Internet. As shownin FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the invention is a computer basedsystem for receiving a video program along with embedded uniformresource locators (URLs)—which direct the user's computer 16 to addresslocations, or Web sites, on the Internet 20 to retrieve related Webpages. These Web pages correspond to the video presentation. Theparticular video programming can be delivered in analog, digital ordigitally compressed formats (e.g., MPEG2) via any transmission means,including satellite, cable, wire, television broadcast or sent via theWeb.

The video programming is preferably created at a centralized location,i.e., content creation 4 as shown in FIG. 1, for distribution tosubscribers in their homes, for example. Program creation isaccomplished according to any conventional means known in the art. Aftera video program is created, uniform resource locators are embedded, inone preferred embodiment, into the vertical blank interval of the videoprogramming by the URL encoder 8, shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment,the URLs are encoded onto eight fields of line 21 of the VBI. Line 21 isthe line associated with close captioning, among other things. However,the URLs could also be embedded in other fields of the VBI, in thehorizontal portion of the video, as part of the audio channel, in anysubcarrier to the video, or if digital, in one of the data fields.

Although FIG. 1 shows the video with URLs over the same transmissionline, the URLs can be sent down independently of the video program on adata channel. In this embodiment, the URLs can be forwarded to theremote sites either prior to initiation or during the program.Preferably, the URLs have associated time stamps which indicate to thesubscriber stations when, during the video program, to display theparticular Web pages addressed by the URLs. Alternatively, the user canselect when to call the particular Web pages for display with the videoprogram.

The particular information in line 21 is not part of the visual part ofthe program, and thus, is not perceptible to the human eye, therebymaking it ideal to send data information to the users. While thebandwidth capacity of line 21 is limited, because the system of thepresent invention transmits only the uniform resource locators (URLs),and not full Web pages, there is more than enough capacity. Furthermore,no additional hardware is necessary at the PC 16 to implement theelements of the present invention. Thus, the present invention has theadditional advantages of being very efficient and takes advantage ofconventional hardware.

Once the video program is created, it can be transmitted to user sitesover any transmission means, including broadcast, cable, satellite, orInternet, and may reside on video servers. Furthermore, the videoprogram, with or without embedded URLs, can be encoded on a VHS or Betatape, DVD or other medium.

Preferably, each receiver station comprises any Intel x86 machine(preferably a 486 processor, pentium processor, etc.), an AppleComputer, UNIX or any other type of standard computer workstation. Thelocal PC 16 is preferably connected to either a cable and/or broadcasttelevision connection or to a local VCR or other video source. At eachsubscriber site, the local personal computer 16 preferably receives thecable transmission by cable connection on the back of the personalcomputer 16. The video/audio program can then be processed for displayon the computer screen using any conventional PC card capable ofdisplaying NTSC signals on a computer monitor, such as a WinTV card. Inaddition to the cable connection, however, in the present inventionthere is also an Internet 20 connection created concurrently with thecable connection.

The Internet 20 connection can be via high-speed line, RF, conventionalmodem or by way of two-way cable carrying the video programming. Thelocal PC 16 has Internet access via any of the current ASCII softwaremechanisms. In a preferred embodiment, at each subscriber home, anassociated local URL decoder 12 receives the cable video televisionprogram, as shown in FIG. 1. The local URL decoder 12 extracts the URLs,preferably embedded in the vertical blanking interval, with the use ofany conventional VBI decoder device. The URL decoder 12 may be either astand-alone unit or a card which is implemented into the personalcomputer 16.

In another preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the uniform resourcelocators (URLs) are encoded into the video in the same manner asdescribed above. Again, the URLs are preferably encoded onto eightfields of line 21 of the VBI, but may also be sent independently of thevideo. In this embodiment, the URL decoder 24 is located at the serversite, as opposed to the subscriber location. When the decoder 24receives the video program signal, it strips out the URL codes on line21 of the VBI and delivers these codes independently to an Internetserver 28. The URL code is then subsequently delivered over the Internet20 to the user PC 16. Simultaneously, the video is broadcast overconventional broadcast or cable transmission means 36 to the user'spersonal computer 16.

Another preferred embodiment of the system, shown in FIG. 4, does notdepend on, or even use, the VBI. In this preferred embodiment, thesystem will run an online service over the Internet 20. This servicewill be in the form of an Internet Web site 62 that provides auser-interface to a database 78 and to one or more associated dataservers 90. The service will provide member-accounts to TV broadcasters66 who sign up to use the system of the invention in conjunction withtheir broadcasts. Each member broadcaster will enter the service attheir computer 70 through Web browser software 74 using their memberaccount by entering various identification and password information.Once within their account, the member will be provided with a graphicaluser interface for pre-scheduling URLs for transmission to users 118over a direct Internet connection 94 at particular times of day. Thesame user interface, or a variation on it, can be used by broadcastersfor live transmission 82 of URLs to users at the same time as abroadcast 86.

For example, one example of this interface might be a schedulingcalendar (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) in which the broadcaster 66may allocate time periods which coincide with their broadcasts 86, andduring which they will send out URLs to their users to link to Webpages. For each time period (for example, a particular hour long periodduring the day) determined by the broadcaster 66 to be a broadcastperiod (a period during which they want to transmit URLs that correspondto a television show being broadcast from their TV broadcast facility110 to the external TV 114 of the user 118 at that time), thebroadcaster 66 may then enter a series of URLs into an associated file(“Link File”) for transmission over the Internet 20 at that time. ThisLink File might have a user interface such as a spreadsheet, table, orlist, or it could be simply a tab-delimited or paragraph-delimitedtext-file. As an to example, each of the records in the Link Fileconsists of a data structure which could contain information such as:

(<timecode>,<URL>,<label or title>,<additional information>,<additionalinformation>, . . . )

The above data structure is just one example. The records in the LinkFile preferably specify the time, Internet address (i.e. URL), label(such as an associated name), and some optional additional information,for each Web page the broadcaster 66 desires to launch during a show.

When a broadcaster 66 modifies their calendar and/or the Link Fileassociated with any given time period(s) in their calendar, thisinformation is saved into the database 78 that is attached to the site62. Each broadcaster 66 may maintain multiple calendars in the database78 if they broadcast in different time zones, for example.

The database 78 provides the Link File records for upcoming time periodsto a server 90, which may be one server or a distributed network ofserver programs on multiple computers across the network, to be utilizedfor scaling to large national or global audiences. The server 90provides the Link File records, including the URLs, to the user'spersonal computer 16, which is connected via a network. Examples ofpossible networks include the public Internet 94, a direct privatenetwork, or even a wireless network.

One feature of the above embodiment is that one or more broadcasters 66may utilize the same schedule in the database 78 for their ownbroadcasts 86 or during the same broadcast. For example, a networkbroadcaster may develop a master schedule and various affiliatebroadcasters may subscribe to that schedule or copy it (in the database)and add or delete specific URLs in the schedule for their localaudiences or unique programming. This scheme enables affiliates toinsert URLs for local advertisers or local subjects into a sequence ofmore general URLs provided by their network broadcaster 66. In otherwords, the affiliate can add links that ride on the network feed andthen redistribute it to their local audiences.

The above embodiment can also enable personalization in the form ofunique series of URLs specific to each user's unique profile, which isdirectly sent over the Internet 20 to each user's specific clientsoftware 106. This can be achieved from the broadcaster 66 to eachindividual user 118, or to particular collections of users. Toaccomplish personalization, the service may send a different stream ofURLs to each user's client software program 106. The stream of URLs sentwould depend on a user profile stored in the database 78 or the clientsoftware program 106, a user profile which is built on demand or overtime for each user 118 based on criteria such as the location of theuser, choices the user makes while using a client software program 106,or choices the broadcaster 66 makes during a broadcast 86, or automaticchoices made by an algorithm (such as a filter) residing on the service62. Personalization enables each user to receive URLs which are uniquelyrelevant to their interests, demographics, history, or behavior in thesystem.

System Operation

Once the URLs have reached the personal computer 16, system operation issimilar for all of the embodiments diagramed in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4.

In a preferred embodiment, a JAVA enabled browser 98 as well asspecialized software 106 for performing part of the method of thepresent invention are installed on the computer 16. The JAVA enabledbrowser 98 allows the computer 16 to retrieve the Web pages 102 and ispreferred software, since it is platform independent, and thus, enablesefficient and flexible transfer of programs, images, etc., over theInternet 20. The specialized interface software 106 (hereinafter,“client software”), attached as Appendix A, acts as an interface betweenthe video programming and the Internet functions of the presentinvention. The client software 106 retrieves URLs from the video program(embodiment of FIG. 1) or directly from the Internet connection(embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 4), interprets these URLs and directs theJAVA enabled browser 98 to retrieve the particular relevant Web pages102, and synchronizes the retrieved Web pages to the video content fordisplay on the user's computer 16, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 andexplained in more detail below.

In a preferred method, the URLs are encoded and embedded into the videosignal by inserting them into the vertical blanking interval (VBI), asmentioned above.

In another preferred embodiment, the URLs are entered by member TVbroadcasters 66 along with specified times for transmitting the URLs tothe user. At the appropriate times, the URLs are sent directly over theInternet to the user's PC 16 via the client software 106 over a directpoint-to-point or multicasting connection.

One method of the present invention has the capability to detectidentical URLs sent directly after one another which causes the browsernot to fetch URLs in these particular cases. As shown in FIG. 3, oncethe URL code is received at the computer, the client software 106 firstinterprets the URL and determines in step 42 whether the particular URLhas been received previously. If it has already been received, the nextreceived URL is interpreted for determination of prior receipt. If theparticular URL has not been detected before, the software checks formisspelling in step 46 and any other errors, and if errors exist,corrects these particular errors. Once again, it is determined whetherthe URL has been previously detected. If it has, the next URL isaccessed in step 38. If the URL has not been detected, the specific URLis added to the URL list in step 54. The specific URL is then sent tothe Web browser, preferably a JAVA enabled browser 98. Upon receipt ofthe URL, the browser 98, in step 58, will access the Web site address122 (FIG. 4) indicated by the URL and retrieve the cited Web page(s) 102via the Internet.

Viewers can view the integrated presentation in the following manner. Asmentioned above, the video signal is processed and displayed on a videowindow on the PC screen using a WinTV card, for example. Thecorresponding audio is forwarded to the audio card and sent to the PCspeakers.

The actual retrieved Web pages 102, referenced by the URL, areoptionally time stamped to be displayed on the computer screen whenpredetermined related video content is displayed in the video window,thus, enlightening and enhancing the video presentation by providingin-depth information related to the video content thereto. Anothersection on the screen is also preferably used to represent anoperational control panel. This control panel provides a list of theURLs that have been broadcast and correspondingly received by thecomputer 16. This control panel is updated to add a URL code each time anew URL code is received by the PC 16. This list gives the subscriberthe flexibility to go back and retrieve particularly informative orinteresting Web pages that have already been displayed earlier in theprogram, or alternatively, to print them out for future reference.Furthermore, the list could include URLs referring to Web pages notdisplayed with the broadcast program, but that provide furtherinformation on a certain topic of interest to the viewer.

The present invention can best be understood with reference to anexample. A viewer can begin watching a musical video featuring a newband, for example. As the video is received by the PC 16, URLs areeither being received with the video signal or are being receiveddirectly via the Internet 20 or another data channel, and are beinginterpreted by the client software 106. Upon direction and command, theJAVA enabled browser 98 retrieves particular Web pages 102 from Internet20 Web sites identified in the URLs. These Web pages 102 will then bedisplayed on the video screen at particular times. Thus, for example,while the viewer is watching the music video, biographical informationon the band can also be displayed adjacently to the video window. Webpages 102 could also include an upcoming concert schedule, or even audioclips of the band's music may be downloaded from the Internet 20. Asanother example, a user could be watching a program relating tofinancial news. While the narrator is shown discussing high tech stocks,Web pages corresponding to detailed financial performance information onhigh tech stocks, environment and characteristics can be displayed withthe video on the computer screen. If the personalization features areincluded, Web pages associated with a particular user's stock can befetched and displayed on the computer screen with the video program.When the program narrator switches to a discussion on the weeklyperformance of the Dow Jones, Web pages presenting related financialperformance information can be simultaneously displayed. Thus, it isevident that the present invention profoundly enriches the viewing andlearning experience.

It is understood that there can exist alternative embodiments for usewith the present invention. For example, the user can view theinteractive program using a television set 114 or other display monitorin conjunction with the display screen of the personal computer 16. Inthis embodiment, the relevant Web pages are shown on the personalcomputer 16 while the video program is displayed on the televisionmonitor 114. In this alternative embodiment, a cable set top boxreceives the television program from the multichannel cable. Thepersonal computer 16 also receives the video program from themulti-channel cable and extracts the URLs, embedded in the verticalblanking interval of the video signal or directly transmitted 94 overthe Internet 20. The client software 106 extracts the URLs and retrievesthe particular Web pages as described above. The Web pages are thensynchronized with the particular video frames and presented to the user.It is understood that a hyperlink may exist on the Web site that willallow the user to automatically load the client software and call up thespecific television channel referenced in the Web site. For example,someone browsing the Internet 20 may come upon a major televisionnetwork's Web site. They scroll to an interesting story then click on anhyperlink to turn on the software which tunes the TV window to thenetwork to enhance the information residing at the Web site.

Furthermore, instead of receiving the video program from a transmissionmeans, the video program can be addressed directly from the user site ifthe video program, with or without embedded URLs, is stored on a VHS,Beta, DVD or other medium. In this embodiment, the user PC 16 and/ortelevision 114 are connected to a VCR, DVD player or other appropriatedevice.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show two alternative embodiments for use with the presentinvention. For example, the user can view the interactive program usinga television set 18 or other display monitor in conjunction with adigital cable box 140, as shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, thedigital cable box 140 performs the functions of the personal computer 16shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the clientsoftware is stored in memory in the digital cable box 140. In thepreferred embodiment, the digital cable box 140 includes two tuners,thus allowing both the Web Page and the Video program to besimultaneously viewed on the same screen. If Video and Webstream,however, are carried on one channel, then only one timer is necessary.

The client software retrieves URLs from the received video program,directly from the Internet connection 20 or via a separate data channel,interprets these URLs and directs the Web enabled browser to retrievethe particular relevant Web pages, and synchronizes the retrieved Webpages to the video content for display on the television 18, as shown inFIG. 5. In this embodiment, the relevant Web pages are shown in oneframe of the television 18 while the video program is displayed inanother frame.

In this alternative embodiment, the digital cable set top box 140receives the television program from the multichannel cable. The URLscan be encoded into the digital program channel using MPEG1, MPEG2,MPEG4, MPEG7 or any other compression video scheme. Alternatively, theURLs can be transmitted to the digital cable boxes 140 from an Internetserver 148. The digital cable box 140 decodes the URLs from the digitalvideo signal or directly transmitted over the Internet 20. The clientsoftware decodes the URLs and retrieves the particular Web pages asdescribed above. The Web pages are then preferably synchronized with theparticular video frames and presented to the user.

As with all the embodiments described above, instead of receiving thevideo program from a transmission means, the video program can beaddressed directly from a local video source 144 if the video program,with or without embedded URLs, is stored on a VHS, Beta, DVD or othermedium. In this embodiment, the digital cable box 140 is connected to aVCR, DVD player or other appropriate device.

FIG. 6 discloses an embodiment where a digital TV 152 is the remotereception unit.

In this embodiment, the digital TV 152 performs the functions of thepersonal computer, shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, and the digital cable box140 shown in FIG. 5. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a processormeans and memory are incorporated into the digital TV 152. Further, theclient software and Web browser software are implemented into memory inthe digital TV 152. All of the functions described above with referenceto the other embodiments are performed in a similar manner by thedigital TV 152 embodiment.

Although the digital cable box/TV 140, 18 and digital TV 152, shown inFIGS. 5 and 6, are incorporated into the embodiment of FIG. 1, insubstitution for the PC 16, they also could be substituted for the PC 16shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The user can view the video and web content on one screen (in twowindows), or with the video on one display screen and the Web content ona separate display monitor. Alternatively, the user can access the videoor web content separately. Thus, the user can branch from video to webcontent and vice versa.

The present invention is well-suited to the education environment. Inthis embodiment, students and teachers access one or more Web servers.The software components include instructor and student user software,authoring software and database assessment software. In one suchembodiment, an instructor uses content creation software on a personalcomputer to easily integrate into their curriculum current informationpublished on the Web, through an easy to use interface 156 such as thatshown in FIG. 7. The instructor creates a playlist (i.e. linkfile) 160,the playlist 160 comprising a listing of Web pages, text notes andquestions. The Web sites and questions are set forth in a predeterminedorder and can be assigned times. Preferably, the URLs identifying theWeb site and time stamps are sent automatically to the desktop of eachstudent in the virtual community, either during playback of apre-recorded program or during a live event.

At each of the student workstations, the program is directed by theplaylist 160. In other words, the playlist 160 provides the structurefor the program. At predetermined times as dictated by the playlist 160,the browser will go fetch and display a Web page in a frame on thecomputer screen. Because program events can be set up in this manner atpredetermined times, the entire program and playlist can be prerecordedand stored in a Web database for later access by students.

A significant advantage of the present invention for educationalapplications is that the students and the instructor can be locatedanywhere, as long as they are all connected to the Web. Because a serveris essentially controlling the program, the instructor output comes fromthe server and the student workstations get automatically updated by theWeb server.

This educational embodiment integrates Web content and other media withcollaborative groupware functionality to create an interactiveenvironment for students and teachers. In this embodiment, the studentcan receive a traditional video lesson through a frame in his or her Webbrowser, or from a television. Simultaneously, the present inventionprovides separate frames, an example of which is shown in FIG. 8, in thebrowser displaying: (1) Web pages 176 automatically delivered to eachstudent's desktop with information or exercises that complement thevideo presentation; (2) a chat dialogue frame 168 for conversing withthe instructor and/or other students online; and (3), an interactiveplaylist 164 of Web pages and questions comprising the lesson.

In the student interface of FIG. 8, each student can perform a virtualexperiment during a physics lesson to learn about gravity, for example.Further, the students are conversing with one another and the instructorin the chat dialogue frame 168. They may also send Web pages to oneanother and provide answers to questions from the teacher via the chatdialogue frame 168 of the student interface 176. With the chat feature,students may break into subgroups for collaborative learning. Whenever astudent in the group sends a message, the message is sent to theInternet server 20 and every other student in the subgroup receives andviews the message in their Chat dialogue frame 168.

The instructor, however, may retain control over the chat feature. Forexample, the instructor can terminate the chat feature or web pushing toterminate unruly on-line conversations or the sending of Web pages bystudents.

Unlike conventional distance learning systems, the present invention ismore powerful by allowing the instructor to freely and convenientlyexercise almost any time of testing strategy. The instructor can teststudents using a combination of the Chat dialogue feature and Web pages.For example, multiple choice questions and short answer questions canappear in the Chat window 168. Essay questions, requiring longeranswers, become Web pages. As mentioned above, students can performvirtual experiments on-line. Once the instructor's personal computerreceives student answers, student scoring can be presented to theinstructor in any format including tables, charts, diagrams, bar graphs,etc. The instructor, thus, can analyze the results and has thecapability of providing real-time feedback to the students.

Students can also receive individualized feedback via branchedinteractive audio, video and/or graphics responses. For example, theworkstation may branch to a particular audio response, preferablyprerecorded in the instructor's own voice, based on the student responseto a multiple choice question. In this embodiment, a plurality ofpotential audio responses are made available at the student'sworkstation according to any one of the methodologies set forth in U.S.Pat. No. 5,537,141, entitled DISTANCE LEARNING SYSTEM, hereinincorporated by reference. Alternatively, personalized video, audio andgraphics segments can be delivered and displayed to the student based ona student answer or personal profile in the manner set forth in U.S.Pat. No. 5,724,091, entitled COMPRESSED DIGITAL DATA INTERACTIVE PROGRAMSYSTEM, herein incorporated by reference.

Responses to student answers can be more substantive based on the memoryfeature of the present invention. The memory feature is an algorithmthat selects an interactive response to the user based not only on thestudent's current answer selection, but also his or her previousresponses, as discussed in the aforementioned applications. Thealgorithm, preferably stored in memory at each student's workstation andunder processor control, merely selects an output interactive responsebased on student responses. As another example, if a student gets threeanswers in sequence right, he or she receives a more difficult question.If, however, the student misses one or more of the three questions, heor she receives an easier question.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a system is describedcapable of handling the education requirements of several schools in anefficiently designed network. The system shown in FIG. 9 solves theproblems inherent in attempting to service large numbers of users, themost obvious obstacles being the issues of load and performance. In thisembodiment shown in FIG. 9, communications servers 180 distribute androute messages across a LAN, WAN and the Internet. Referring to FIG. 9,in the center of the diagram is the Group Database server. Surroundingthe database server are several Com Servers 180, each serving an area192. Surrounding each Com Server 180 are squares representing userstations 188. The Communication Servers 180 are organized in noderelationships with one another.

Each node is responsible for serving an Area 192. An Area 192 is definedas a Virtual location serviced by a single Communications Server 180 (or“Com Server”). An Area 192 may be a single school, an office, or mayconsist of several actual physical locations. The definingcharacteristic of an Area 192 is that messages sent from one member ofan Area 192 to another need not be routed outside of the servicing CornServer 180.

An Area member is analogous to the frequently used term “user.” Forexample, a “user” may be a student in the educational embodimentdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The Distributed Communication System of FIG. 9 shall permit the dynamicaddition of Communication Servers 180 within a group with little or noadministrative tasks as well as the addition of groups within an overallcommunications network. A Communication Server group consists of severaldefined Virtual Areas 192 (preferably, consisting of no more the 250members each), each area 192 serviced by a single Corn Server 180. Thissystem shall allow members of one Area 192, or group to easilycommunicate with members of another Area 192 or group without anyconfiguration changes.

Generally, service of very large numbers of users has required largeexpensive servers and networks. As the user base increases, performancesuffers and hardware must be upgraded to service the demand.

The Distributed Communication System of the present invention allows thesame, relatively inexpensive machines to serve an ever-increasing userbase. The technique by which this will be accomplished will be throughthe routing of messages from one server to another when necessary.

The method essentially follows the same core pattern as IP routing andDNS lookups. If a message is for a member not belonging to the currentArea 192 or group, the message shall be routed through the DistributedCommunication System until its destination, or someone who knows thedestination and can deliver the message, is found.

The destination will be cached so subsequent-messages for that member orgroup may be more efficiently delivered.

Referring again to FIG. 9, if a message is posted by member “A” and isintended only for the members of group 1 the message shall never leaveArea 1 Com Server. However, if the message is intended for members ofArea 1 and the members of Area 2, the Area 1 Com server forwards themessage to the group database server 184. The message shall be broadcastto the members of Area 1 and tagged in the database 184 as belonging toArea 2. The message is then routed to Area 2 and broadcast to Area 2members. With this technique any member can potentially send a messageto any other member. If the Area Com server 180 does not recognize thedestination, the message is forwarded up the line. Each Com server 180does not need to know about any other server 180. Messages are routeduntil they delivered. If undeliverable, the original sender is notified.

New Areas 192 can be added on the fly. When a new Com server 188 isadded to the network, it registers itself with the database application.Henceforth, any message destined for the new Area 192 can be routedproperly without altering the other Area Servers 180.

If This method and system works for global messages or for user to usermessages. Furthermore, new Groups may also be dynamically added. Onceadded, each new Group Database Server 184 registers itself with theexisting database servers 184. This distribution of load permits nearlyunlimited expansion with existing software and hardware. Each servermanages a finite number of members, cumulatively serving a growingcommunity.

Users need not be informed as to the particular Com Server 180 theyshould connect to. Members are directed to a single URL. The selectionof the server for user connection is determined by load balancingsoftware. In this manner, the network may appear to be a global networkof Servers or simply a local classroom.

The unique aspects of this architecture, using database servers asrouting gateways, using techniques resembling IP routing and DNS lookup,enables this system to serve with minimum administration andconfiguration and with lower end, cost-effective hardware.

Using the foregoing embodiments, methods and processes, the system ofthe present invention creates a synergistic experience combining thevast resources of the Internet with the presentation capabilities oftelevision.

We claim:
 1. A method for determining whether an address, identifying a source of an online information segment, has been previously received, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a programming signal; receiving the address identifying the source of the online information segment; reviewing a list of previously received addresses; determining whether the address is on the list of previously received addresses; retrieving the online information segment from the source when the address is not on the list; and adding the address to the list upon initial retrieval of the online information segment from the source.
 2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the address is embedded within the programming signal and the method further comprises the step of extracting the address from the programming signal.
 3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the list is deleted every time a system implementing the method is restarted.
 4. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising the step of saving the list in a storage device.
 5. A method as described in claim 4, wherein the storage device is local to a system receiving the address.
 6. A method as described in claim 4, wherein the storage device is remote to a system receiving the address.
 7. A method as described in claim 4, wherein the storage device further comprises at least one storage device selected from the group consisting of: magnetic tape, compact disc, digital versatile disc, server, computer hard drive, random access memory, read only memory, CD ROM, a magnetic data storage medium, and an optical data storage medium.
 8. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the list further contains a designator of when a listed address was last updated, and the method further comprises the step of determining whether the online information segment provided by the source has been modified since the listed address was last updated.
 9. A method as described in claim 8, further comprising the step of verifying whether the address has been updated on a locally generated list. 